Author: Delia Owens
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
I wasn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.
Hands down one of the best books I have read this year. I haven’t read many books which have affected me so much emotionally and yet kept me on the edge-of-the-seat at the same time.
Where the crawdads Sing, is a story of survival, breaking the prejudice and ultimately a stunningly beautiful coming-of-age story with a small twist of a wondefully crafted murder mystery.
The story is set in the town of Barkley Cove, North Carolina during 1950s-1970. Our protagonist is Kya Clark. When she was six, her mother left her, and soon after her siblings abandoned her too. She grew up on her own, living her life in the marsh, thus earning the name of the “Marsh Girl”. The town people also outcasted her. She gets involved with two boys in her town, but eventually, both of them abandons her as well. She grows up with the feelings of abandonment and loneliness. Yet she survives her year in the marsh, learning to read and write. She spends most of her time among nature, feeding gulls, collecting shells and feather. When Chase Andrews, a guy she dated is found dead in a swamp, the whole town immediately suspects the Marsh Girl. And, thus begins the “chase” for Chase Andrews’ killer…
We can divide the story into three segments: first is a coming of age story, second a murder investigation, and the third is a courtroom drama.
The Coming-Of-Age story of Kya: This is the segment where we spent most of the time, and arguably the crowning jewel of the story. We learn how the timid and shy Kya runs away from school out of embarrassment, how she survives by selling fish and cooking grits, how she explores the marsh on her own, how she makes a friend who teaches her to read and write and how she falls in love with him and how he breaks her heart. Delia Owens develops her character just like a potter makes pottery. She molds her character patiently, by taking time, leaving imperfections, which can be fixed later by tapping hard. She lets the reader feel every emotion Kya is feeling, every hardship, every joy that Kya feels you feel. And all this makes you cry, smile, and laugh with her.
Don’t we all find some characters making some mistakes, which are utterly stupid and doesn’t make a whole lot sense? Kya, she also makes similar mistakes, but the way her character has grown, you understand why she’s doing that. The agonizing pain of loneliness and the desperation of human contact is something we all have felt at some point, but not like what Kya has felt. And, every decision she makes is wholly justified in the context of the story.
This segment has many great character moments and is filled with genuine emotions.
The murder investigation and trial: These two segments are running on a parallel thread. Here the prejudice against Kya comes out in the form a murder trial. We learn how the town sheriff and people use the circumstantial evidence to connect Kya with the murder of Chase Andrews. A 70-year-old retired lawyer comes out of retirement for her aid. In this segment, the most commendable effort by Owens is that how she suddenly elevates the drama and tension yet keeping the story rooted. There is a lot of suspense and waiting, but still, the driving force of the story doesn’t change. The emotions, the characters, and the biases, they are still there.
Apart from capturing the themes of prejudice and abandonment so beautifully, Owens also incorporates a profound and deep relationship between Kya and nature. Where Kya doesn’t trust people, the only constant companion she finds in her life is nature. The world of human might be ugly and hateful, but from Kya’s eyes, the world of marsh and gulls is beautiful and exciting.
Sometimes she heard night-sounds she didn’t know or jumped from lightning too close, but whenever she stumbled, it was the land who caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.
She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn’t her fault she’d been alone. Most of what she knew, she’d learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.
The writing is full of prose and poems. It’s captivating, and the pace varies to capture the moment. Kya is already one of my all-time favorite characters. She’s smart, kind, and inspirational.
Never underrate
the heart,
Capable of deeds
The mind cannot conceive.
The heart dictates as well as feels.
How else can you explain
The path I have taken,
That you have taken
The long way through this pass?
If you want to feel some very genuine emotions, Where the Crawdads sing is the book for you.
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